USA > New York > The men of New York: a collection of biographies and portraits of citizens of the Empire state prominent in business, professional, social, and political life during the last decade of the nineteenth century, Vol. I > Part 63
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In 1860 Mr. Richmond disposed of his interest in this concern, and established a grain commission business in partnership with Henry 1. Richmond. The venture was successful from the first, and in 1863-64 the Richmond elevator was built by the firm, which was known as J. M. Richmond & Co. Mr. Richmond had now been actively engaged in business for nearly twenty years. lle had worked with tireless energy, and had met with unusual sue- cess ; and he felt entitled to a long vacation. He gave up his business, accordingly, in 1864, and went abroad, where he spent the greater part of a year in
travel. Returning to Buffalo in 1865, he formed a partnership with his two brothers, Alonzo and Moses M., and resumed the commission business, which he conducted for the next fifteen years with much suc- cess. In 1881 he retired from active business, and has since devoted himself to the care of his exten- sive real-estate and other interests.
Early in his business career Mr. Richmond estab- lished a reputation for conducting to a successful issue any enterprise that he undertook ; and his fel- low-citizens have frequently been glad to avail them- selves of this ability. The case of the Buffalo & Jamestown railroad, well known to the older genera- tion of Buffalonians, is perhaps the most conspicuous instance of his public-spirited zeal. On the organi- zation of the road in 1872, Mr. Richmond was elected the first president. He accepted the posi- tion with reluctance ; but having once accepted it, he threw himself heartily into the work of raising funds, and building and equipping the road. The financial depression of 1873 proved a serious obsta- cle to the progress of the undertaking, and only the most prompt and energetic measures saved it from failure. Mr. Richmond gave himself unreservedly to the care of the enterprise ; and, though his pri- vate interests suffered materially, he succeeded in completing the road, and putting it in successful operation in 1875. He then resigned the presi- dency, and turned his attention once more to private affairs.
Mr. Richmond has been president of the Buffalo Mutual Gaslight Co. for twenty-five years, resigning in the spring of 1897. In 1867 he was elected president of the Marine Bank of Buffalo, and held the office two years, when he resigned on account of pressure of other business." He afterward served as vice president of the institution, and from 1892 to 1894 was again its president ; and he is now a mem- ber of its board of directors. He is vice president of the Buffalo Savings Bank, and has been president of the Board of Trade.
When the new charter of the city of Buffalo went into operation January 1, 1892, an upper house was provided in the city legislature, known as the board of councilmen, and consisting of nine members elected on a general ticket for a term of three years. Mr. Richmond, who had often before declined to let his name be used for political office, yielded to the wishes of his friends, and accepted the Demo- cratie nomination for this new office. He was elected for the years 1892-94, and during the last two years he was president of the board of council- men. Throughout his term he was acknowledged by both parties to be a most valuable public servant :
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and it was a matter of general regret that he could not be induced to accept a second term.
Though he has been so active in business life, and so successful in the management of business enter- prises, Mr. Richmond has never been wholly absorbed in such matters ; but has maintained a hearty inter- est in all that concerns the intellectual development of the community. He is a life member of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the Society of Natural Sciences, and the Buffalo Library ; and was president of the latter association for three years, and a member of the build- ing committee at the time of the erection of the society's handsome building, on Lafayette square. He belongs to the Buffalo and Falconwood clubs.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Jewett Melvin Richmond was born at Syracuse December 9, 1830 ; attended common schools ; was a. clerk in country stores, 1847-53; engaged in the manu- facture and sale of salt, 1854-60 ; mar- ried Geraldine H. Rudderow of New York city November 10, 1870 ; conducted a grain commission business in Buffalo, 1860-81 ; was president of the Buffalo & Jamestown railroad, 1872-75 ; since 1881 has been occupied with the care of his estate, and with his duties as an officer in various corporations.
Robert IR. Smither is well known in Buffalo not only as an enterprising and successful business man, but also for his intelligent and active interest in public affairs. Any city is fortunate that can command the services of practical, clear-headed men in carrying on its gov- ernment ; and few men have been more efficient in this regard than Mr. Smither.
Mr. Smither was born in England, in the historic city of Winchester, in 1851, and is therefore well under fifty years of age. He was brought to America by his parents in childhood, and has made his home in Buffalo since 1868, when he secured a situation as a clerk in the drug store of W. H. l'eabody. From that time on - almost thirty years now - Mr. Smither has been connected with the drug business in Buffalo ; and he long ago became one of its lead- ing pharmacists. After occupying a responsible position with Mr. Peabody, and becoming widely and favorably known in his profession, he acted for a time as manager of a similar establishment for W.
R. Crumb ; and in 1875 began business for himself at the corner of Niagara and Jersey streets. He still carries on this store, which has become, with the lapse of years, one of the most extensive in the city. About ten years ago he opened a second store at the corner of Elmwood avenue and Bryant street,
JEWETT M. RICHMOND
in the midst of a new and rapidly growing section of the city ; and since that time he has conducted the two stores with continued success.
Mr. Smither is devoted to his profession, and has done much to raise the standard of its member- ship in Erie county and throughout the state. He was active in support of the bill to restrict the prac. tice of pharmacy to persons properly qualified and licensed therefor, and had an important part in securing its passage in the legislature. He has been president of the Erie County Board of Pharmacy since its organization in 1884 : and is ex-president of the Erie County Pharmaceutical Association, and chairman of the Board of Curators of the Buffalo College of Pharmacy. In 1896 he was unanimously
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elected president of the New York State Pharma- ceutical Association, and was re-elected in 1897.
Mention has been made above of Mr. Smither's public service. This began in 1879, when he was elected a member of the board of supervisors from the old 9th ward, Buffalo, on the Republican ticket.
ROBERT K. SMITHER
He was re-elected three times, thus representing the ward on the county board for eight years. or until his removal to another part of the city. Although but twenty-eight years old when first elected, his natural aptitude for public affairs soon asserted itself ; and he became known as one of the most efficient members of the board, and served as its chairman for three terms. In the first election under the new city charter, in 1891, he was the Republican candidate for alderman in the 24th ward, and was elected by a substantial majority. Two years later he was re-elected by a largely increased majority ; and in 1895 he was nominated by accla- mation for a third term, and elected by the largest majority ever given for a ward officer under the
revised charter. In 1894 he was the president of the common council, and in 1895 he was unani- mously elected president of the board of aldermen. Mr. Smither's work in behalf of a clean, business- like administration of city affairs, and his successful efforts in securing various necessary reforms, are known to all Buffalonians ; and it may be confidently expected that they will make further use of his administrative talents in the future.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Robert Knight Smither was born at Win- chester, Eng., October 10, 1851; came to America in 1858 : became a clerk in a Buffalo drug store in 18GS : married Lueretia C. Newkirk of Buffalo August 23, 1874; was a member of the Erie- county board of supervisors, 1880-87 ; has been alderman from the 24th ward, Buf- falo, since 1892, acting as president of the common council in 1804 and president of the board of aldermen in 1895 ; has con- dueted a drug business in Buffalo since 1875.
A. D. Thompson has been inti- mately connected for half a century with the manufacturing and other interests of Buffalo. His father, Sheldon Thomp- son, had an important part in the early development of western New York, and his more remote ancestors were promi- nent in the Connecticut colony in ante- revolutionary days. Anthony, the first of the family to emigrate. came to Amer- ica in 1637, and was one of the founders of New Haven. Major Jabez Thompson, the great-grandfather of A. P. Thompson, served in the Colonial wars ; had com- mand of the first troops sent from Derby, Conn., immediately after the fighting at Lexington ; and as colonel of his regiment was killed in the retreat from New York, September 15, 1776. His son, also named Jabez, born in 1759, spent his life as a sailor, and was lost with his vessel when only thirty- five years old. His son Sheldon, a boy of ten at the time, was thus obliged to care for himself, and shipped as a cabin boy on a vessel of which his brother William was the master. He followed the sca for the next fifteen years, and eventually obtained command of a fine ship in the West India trade. At this time, however, the hostilities between the great European nations rendered commerce on the ocean exceedingly dangerous and difficult ; and in
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1810 Sheldon Thompson was induced to join some other adventurous spirits and emigrate to the wilder- ness of western New York with a view to building up a trade on the lakes. The firm of Townsend, Bronson & Co. was organized, accordingly ; and during the first year one schooner of a hundred tons was built and launched on Lake Ontario, and another on Lake Erie. About the year 1816 Mr. Thompson moved from Lewiston to Black Rock, and at once became one of the most influential citizens of Erie county. In addition to his part in extending and firmly establishing the commerce on the lakes and on the Erie canal, he has the distinc- tion of being the first mayor of Buffalo elected by the people, and one of the founders and first vestry- men of St. Paul's Church, the first Episcopal church in Buffalo.
Augustus Porter Thompson was born at Black Rock in 1825, when that settle- ment was still a rival of its neighbor, Buffalo. The question of the future supremacy of the two places had been practically settled, however, several years before in favor of Buffalo, when that village was chosen as the terminus of the Erie canal ; and in 1830 Mr. Thompson's father took up his residence there. Porter Thompson received an excellent education for those early days, attending academies at Lewiston and Canandaigua, and private schools in Buffalo. After that he spent several years in his father's establishment as a clerk, acquiring a general knowledge of business principles and methods.
On attaining his majority Mr. Thomp- son received an interest in the firm of Thompson & Co., manufacturers of white lead ; and he has always been connected with this industry with the exception of a short interval in the '60's. In 1860, having disposed of his interest in the lead works, he associated himself with Edward S. Warren and De Garmo Jones, and built a large anthracite blast furnace -the second of the kind in Buffalo. Later these two furnaces were united un- der the name of the Buffalo Union Iron Works, and a third furnace was built, and one of the largest rolling mills ever erected up to that time. In 1866 Mr. Thompson severed his connection with the iron works, and bought an interest in the lead factory of S. G. Cornell & Son, afterward the Cornell Lead Company. He
became vice president of this concern, and after- ward president ; and held the latter office until the business was transferred to the National Lead Com- pany in 1887. Since that time he has been a director of that company and the manager of its Buffalo branch.
Mr. Thompson has naturally been interested in various enterprises outside of his work as a manu- facturer. He was for some years cashier of the Buffalo City Bank, and a member of its board of directors. He was also a member of the first board of directors of the old railway company that built the road on Niagara street in 1860. He has taken an active and publie-spirited part in many move- ments for promoting the intellectual well-being of Buffalo. Ile is a member of the Buffalo Historical
A. P. THOMPSON
Society, and a life member of the Buffalo Library and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. He is one of the wardens of St. Paul's Church, and a trustee of St. Margaret's School, Buffalo, and occupies other positions of trust and responsibility.
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PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Augustus Porter Thompson was born at Black Rock, N. Y., February 14, 1825 ; was educated in private schools and academics ; married Matilda Cass Jones of Detroit, Mich., June 9, 18533 ; was a member of the firm of Thompson & Co., Buffalo, manufacturers of
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HENRY W. WENDT
white lead, 1846-60; engaged in iron manufacture in Buffalo, 1860-66 ; was a member of the.Cornell Lead Co. from 1867 until it became the Buffalo branch of the National Lead Co., and has been its manager since.
benry Ul. Wienot, though still less than thirty-five years of age, has filled an important place in the manufacturing world for more than fifteen years. Born in Buffalo in the early '60's, he has always made his home there. Even during his schoolboy days, he evinced a natural bent for mechanics, which he lost no opportunity to gratify. After receiving a good practical education in the public schools of his native city, he entered the
employ of the Buffalo l'orge Co., beginning at the bottom, and working at the bench and lathe, and thus gaining a practical knowledge of the machinist's trade. In the same manner he mounted step by step through all the different departments until in Janu- ary, 1886, he was admitted to partnership in the concern ; his brother, William F. Wendt, having a few years previously acquired entire ownership and control of the business.
The association was a most fortunate one, as has been proved by the con- tinued prosperity and the steady enlarge- ment of the concern. The important place that .it occupies to-day in the man- ufacturing world is due in no small part to Mr. Wendt's thorough practical knowledge of the mechanical and en- gineering parts of the business, and to the faculty for going to the bottom of things, which was so marked a charac- teristic when he was a mere lad. His wide experience in designing, and in the practical installation of some of the largest heating and ventilating plants in the country, supplemented by his natural mechanical ability, has gained for him a standing in the foremost rank of heating and ventilating engineers ; and there is. perhaps, no one to-day whose advice on weighty matters in this line is more fre- quently in requisition, or whose stand- ing as an authority is more widely recognized.
Of a sanguine temperament and a naturally genial disposition, Mr. Wendt has the power, so common to self-made men, of inspiring in his subordinates some portion of his own enthusiasm, and comprehensive grasp of mechanical problems : the result is, that he is surrounded by a corps of engi- neers whose loyalty to, and unquestioned faith in, their employers has contributed very materially to the success of the firm. Their uninterrupted pros- perity, which has suffered no check in good or bad times, and their reputation for being always fully abreast with the latest developments in engineering science and improved processes of manufacturing, are due in no small degree to his personal influence.
As consulting engineer in the larger and more important work engaged in by his firm, Mr. Wendt travels considerably and enjoys an enviable acquaint- ance among scientists and engineers at home and abroad. In the field of invention he has made
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a considerable mark, several patents having been granted him for improvements in various lines of engineering.
Although enjoying a wide acquaintance among public men, with whom he comes in contact almost daily in his own city and elsewhere, he has never allowed his name to be used in connection with a public office. He is a member of the board of trus- tees of the Buffalo Builders' Exchange, and promi- nent in Masonic circles.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Henry WV. Wendt was born at Buffalo June 19, 1863; was educated in Buffalo public schools ; learned the ma- chinist's trade with the Buffalo Forge Co., and has been a member of the corporation since 1886.
C. Lee Abell, well known among the younger business men of Buffalo, was born in that city about forty years ago. For several generations his family has been promi- nent in western New York, his grand- father, Thomas G. Abell, having moved from Vermont to Fredonia in 1814. He was one of the foremost men of the place, as was his brother Mosely ; and had an important part in the develop- ment of Chautauqua county. In com- pany with two others, Thomas Abell established in 1829 a line of stagecoaches between Buffalo and Erie ; and he is said to have made the first stagecoach in the country. He was one of the founders of Fredonia Academy. He moved to Buffalo in 1852, and died there five years later. His son, William H. Abell, the father of our present subject, was also a prominent man. Born in Ver- mont in 1814, he was taken West during infancy ; graduated from Fredonia Acad- emy ; lived in Austin, Texas, during the years 1839-42, holding several important public offices there ; and spent the rest of his life in Buffalo in various success- ful commercial pursuits. He died there in 1887.
Mr. Abell's maternal grandfather, Oli- ver Lee, was a native of Connecticut, but moved to western New York in early life. He took a prominent part in the operations on the Niagara frontier during the war of 1812, and afterward engaged extensively in lake commerce and in other mercantile pursuits. He was a man of strict integrity and unusual business ability ; and throughout his career enjoyed the
confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends. At the time of his death in 1846 he was president of the Attica & Buffalo railroad, and of Oliver Lee & Co.'s Bank, Buffalo. This latter institution was founded by him, and conducted successfully for a number of years.
C. Lee Abell began his active business career at the age of sixteen in the office of a wholesale coal dealer in Buffalo, with whom he remained for about four years. The next few years were devoted to various clerkships in Buffalo, and two years' service in Bradford, Penn., with the United Pipe Lines. After the burning of the Marine elevator in 1879, he formed a partnership with his father and Daniel O'Day for the purpose of building and operating the new Marine elevator. This purpose was effected in 1881, and the business was successfully conducted
C. LEE ABELL
as a partnership until 1894. At that time the elevator was enlarged, and the business was trans- ferred to a stock company of which Mr. Abell was made president and manager. The Marine elevator
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handles easily 20,000 bushels of grain an hour, and stores at one time 700,000 bushels. This business is Mr. Abell's chief commercial interest ; but the care of his father's estate devolves largely upon him, and requires a part of his time and attention.
ROBERT F. ATKINS
As for personal matters, mention should be made of Mr. Abell's long and distinguished career in the National Guard. Beginning as a private and a charter member of the Buffalo City Guard Cadets, he served successfully as sergeant, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant. He was elected captain of company C, 74th regiment, October 3, 1881 ; and became major in July, 1891, and lieutenant colonel the next year. He resigned from the National Guard in April, 1894. He is a 32d degree Mason, belonging to Buffalo Consistory, A. A. S. R., and to Hugh de Payens Commandery, No. 30, K. T. He has membership, also, in various other fraternal organizations. He has been an active force in the Democratic party for many years, attaining special dis- tinction in connection with the Cleveland Democracy.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Charles Lee Abell was born at Buffalo October 4, 1856 ; held various clerkships in Buffalo and Bradford, Penn., 1872-80 : married Emma L. Farthing of Buffalo March 25, 1880; was a member of the National Guard in Buffalo, 1881-94; has been manager and part owner of the Marine elevator, Buffalo, since 1881.
Robert F. Atkins was born in London, England, sixty years ago, but has made his home in Buffalo ever since his fifteenth year. He was educated at Knox's College, Toronto, and afterward attended Bryant & Stratton's Business College in Buffalo. He then obtained a situation in an undertaker's establishment in Buffalo, and this vocation he followed until 1861.
When the war broke out it found Gen- eral Atkins with a wife and two small children, and a newly established busi- ness that needed his attention. He gave up all his personal interests, however, and at once prepared to go to the de- fense of his country. He probably shared the general belief at that time that the struggle would be a short one ; but having once set out, he never fal- tered, but remained in active service until the last rebel company had laid down their arms. In April, 1861, he helped to organize a company from the ranks of the volunteer fire department of Buffalo, and was elected its first lieuten- ant. They presented themselves for duty in New York two months later, and were temporarily stationed at Castle Garden. When Colonel Cochran's regiment, the 1st United States chasseurs, was organized, General Atkins received an appointment as third sergeant of com- pany B. The regiment was assigned to General Graham's brigade, Couch's division, 4th corps ; and was in active service at Ball's Bluff, Wil- liamsburgh, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, and Seven Pines. In the latter engagement Sergeant Atkins was wounded, and sent home on furlough ; and while there he was promoted to the rank of first lieu- tenant, and assigned to company C, the color com- pany of the 116th New York volunteers, of which Colone. Chapin was the heroic commander. The regiment served with General Banks in Louisiana, and Lieutenant Atkins acted as brigade quartermaster and commissary on the staff of Brigadier General Chapin
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throughout the campaign, and in the engagements of Baton Rouge, Plains Stone, Coxe's Plantation, and the siege of Port Hudson. During this cam- paign he was advanced to the captaincy of his com- pany ; and in August, 1863, he was made lieutenant colonel in the 18th United States infantry, and appointed to the board of examiners of officers for United States troops, with headquarters at Port Hud- son. In the examination for this position Colonel Atkins stood first among a large number of officers, and was assigned as commanding officer of the 4th United States engineers at Fort Brashear. He was mustered out at New Orleans in September, 1865, and in 1868 received a brevet commission as colonel, for meritorious service.
Returning to Buffalo in 1865 after an absence of nearly four and a half years, General Atkins became local editor of the Evening Post, and in 1870 paymaster of the Anchor line of steamboats. In 1877 he took up again his former business, and he has long been known as one of the leading under- takers of Buffalo. He was president of the New York State Undertakers' Asso- ciation in 1881 and 1882; and took an active part in the formation at Rochester, fourteen years ago, of the National Un- dertakers' Association, and was elected a delegate to the first convention of the association.
General Atkins has been actively in- terested in the Grand Army of the Republic from the time of its organiza- tion, and has five times been elected commander of Chapin Post, No. 2, of Buffalo. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, as well as a number of other societies - military, patriotic, and fraternal. He takes spe- cial interest in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been an active . worker in that organization for many years. He was the first department commander of the Patriarchs Militant of the Empire State, and derived his title of brigadier general from that position. He increased the number of Cantons in the state from seventeen to twenty-six, and Canton Persch, No. 26, of Buffalo, was mustered in by him. He belongs to Canton Buffalo, No. 5, and was its first cap- tain. He was for two years president of the Odd Fellows' Club of Buffalo. He is a member of the English Lutheran Trinity Church, and is the
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